Addressing Model Inaccuracies in Transmission Network Reconfiguration via Diverse Alternatives

Abstract: The ongoing energy transition places significant pressure on the transmission network due to increasing shares of renewables and electrification. To mitigate grid congestion, transmission system operators need decision support tools to suggest remedial actions, such as transmission network reconfigurations or redispatch. However, these tools are prone to model inaccuracies and may not provide relevant suggestions with regard to important unmodeled constraints or operator preferences. We propose a human-in-the-loop modeling-to-generate alternatives (HITL-MGA) approach to address these shortcomings by generating diverse topology reconfiguration alternatives. Case studies on the IEEE 57-bus and IEEE 118-bus systems show the method can leverage expert feedback and improve the quality of the suggested remedial actions.